Chapter 382 The Power of Self-Preservation
Chunzhi already knew how to ride a horse, and was quite good at it. This time, Huo Zheng personally taught her all the way from Xizhou to Beili. Her horsemanship became more advanced than before, and she drove the carriage faster than others.
The scene was chaotic, with several carriages running in different directions according to their original plan.
The five trusted palace maids who disguised themselves as the princess even lifted the curtain to attract the attention of the Beili rebel army, making them chase after the carriage they were in.
Even Sun Liangji, who was in charge of protecting the wedding procession, was dumbfounded. He couldn't tell which carriage the real princess was in.
The Daxing soldiers had no way of telling the difference, so they could only choose a nearby carriage to follow, with guards on the side.
Chunzhi rode his horse and broke out of the encirclement of the Beili rebel army, with a group of Daxing soldiers guarding him. It seemed that he was about to break out of the encirclement...
"Don't let them get away!"
When the leader of the opposing team saw that they were trying to escape from the encirclement, he immediately rode his horse to chase them, shouting for someone to stop the carriage.
Even though there were so many "princesses" present, the leader of the Beili rebels still used his wolf-like keenness to determine that the real princess was in that carriage.
In fact, the one who rode the horse out of the encirclement was Princess Changning of Daxing.
King Chang'an of Daxing and Tuoba Ying attacked the heartland of their three major tribes at night, and jointly killed the leaders of the three major tribes, causing chaos among the tribes. Tuoba Ying took the opportunity to summon the remaining forces of the royal court and counterattacked in one fell swoop to regain power. Instead, their three major tribes could only flee in all directions and became a chaotic army that everyone wanted to kill.
The leader of this rebellious army, Wu Le Tong, was worried about how he would survive in the future when he met Princess Daxing on his way to escape.
How can this not be considered as God helping him?
As long as they captured Princess Daxing and forced the King of Chang'an of Daxing to leave Beili, it would be much easier to deal with Tuoba Ying alone.
Wu Letong, certain of his fate, galloped ahead, his horse wielding a broadsword as he chopped down the Daxing soldiers protecting the carriage one by one. He laughed heartily and shouted, "Princess! Don't struggle in vain. Just surrender. Because you're a beauty, I won't kill you!"
Chunzhi rode her horse at full speed without looking back. Although she was the Princess of Daxing, no matter which rebel army she met, the enemy would not kill her directly. But if she fell into the hands of the Beili rebel army, they would definitely use her to threaten Huo Zheng.
So they cannot surrender until the last moment.
What if there is still a chance to escape from the tiger's mouth?
Huo Yanran held on tightly to the carriage with one hand while shooting a hidden arrow with the other in the bumpy carriage.
The sleeve arrow flew out through the wind. Wu Letong, who was chasing closely, was about to climb into the carriage, but he didn't expect that such a hidden arrow would suddenly shoot at him. He couldn't dodge in time and was shot in the right eye.
In an instant, blood splattered.
"Ah!" Wu Letong screamed, fell off his horse, rolled a few times in the snow, and rolled directly down the hillside.
The Beili rebel army that came after them were busy rescuing their leader, and the whole group was instantly in chaos.
Chunzhi didn't know what happened behind her. When she looked back, she saw the Beili rebel army shouting and screaming, and the leader who had been chasing them was gone.
Huo Yanran leaned against the carriage, breathing heavily, muttering to herself, "Fortunately... fortunately, all these days of practicing the hidden arrows were not in vain."
Ever since she nearly died at the hands of the Xiling people on the first day she entered Beili, she felt that she could not rely solely on others for protection. The feeling of having a hidden arrow in her hand but not being able to hit the enemy was too uncomfortable.
So the little princess practiced secretly for a long time, and finally hit the target today.
It’s a pity that he didn’t kill him with one blow.
The leader of the rebel army was really hard to kill. He was shot in one eye, fell off his horse, and rolled down the hillside. He was actually able to stab his knife into the hillside to stop himself from rolling down, waiting for the rebel army behind him to rush over and rescue him.
After Wu Letong was rescued, the first thing he said was, "Chase! Chase! We must catch Princess Daxing!"
The chaotic army responded in unison, jumped on their horses and continued to chase the speeding carriage in front.
Huo Yanran heard the noise and looked back. Seeing that those people had started to chase them again, she shouted anxiously, "Sister-in-law!"
"Don't panic." Chunzhi said without turning back, "Hold on tight!"
There is a dilapidated wooden bridge in front, connecting two mountain peaks. The heavy snow blurs the road ahead.
In front of them was a broken bridge that was too fragile to be stepped on, and behind them were the aggressive pursuers.
Chunzhi hesitated for only a moment before shouting "Go!"
He rode his horse across the broken bridge and headed straight for the opposite mountain.
The dilapidated bridge broke apart the moment the carriage passed by. The chaotic army galloping behind could not stop their momentum, and several of them rushed down the mountain directly.
Chunzhi reined in her horse at the opposite mountain peak and looked back. She saw the chaotic soldiers either falling off the mountain or stopping where they were. Her heart was beating as fast as a drum.
So this is what it feels like to have the power to protect yourself.
I was thankful that I could suppress the panic and anxiety in my heart.
Seeing that they could not catch up with them, the rebel soldiers began to draw their bows and arrows, and the arrows fell like rain.
Chunzhi rode away at full speed, leaving the arrows and the chaotic army far behind.
After the aunt and sister-in-law escaped, they lost their way in the heavy snow, but they did not dare to go back for fear of encountering the rebel army again. Fortunately, they were well prepared and there was enough food and water in the carriage.
This snow continues uninterrupted.
The weather was so bad that they couldn't tell the time at all. They could only use dusk and dawn to mark the number of days they walked in the snow.
On the fourth day, after dodging several groups of rebel troops, Chunzhi and Huo Yanran encountered the fifth group of rebel troops.
The horses were so tired that they could no longer pull the carriage.
The two men found an abandoned cave on the mountain. There were stored food and firewood in the cave, but the rebel army found it by following the tracks of horse hooves.
After much consideration, Chunzhi decided to let Huo Yanran hide in the cave while she rode on horseback to lead away the chaotic troops.
"No!" Huo Yanran was anxious and said without thinking: "How can I let my sister-in-law risk her life just to save my own!"
Chunzhi said: "How do you know that staying here will really save you, and going out will just kill you? Maybe the one who goes out will survive, and staying here will..."
"Sister-in-law!" Huo Yanran couldn't help but interrupt her, "I'm not a child. I know you're trying to protect me!"
Chunzhi naturally knew that the little princess was not so easily fooled. "Be good. The horse is exhausted after walking for several days. The carriage must be abandoned. It can't carry the two of us. It's too dangerous for us to stay in this cave together. Separating is the best solution right now."
It is better to save one person than to be caught by the rebel army together.
Chunzhi handed the only remaining signal arrow in her hand to Huo Yanran, "Take this signal arrow. If I can escape danger after I get out, I will immediately bring people back to find you. If I don't come back, after you finish your dry food and water, walk out of the cave and release this signal arrow. No matter who finds this place, you must follow them. Remember, staying alive is what matters."
She said to Huo Yanran very seriously: "The dignity of a princess and her purity and chastity are nothing compared to life and death."
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